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The Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHa) is Pleased to Welcome Michael Moss, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author of Salt Sugar Fat, as a Keynote Speaker at its Annual Conference

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 30, 2013) - The Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHa) is pleased to announce that Michael Moss, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, will be joining an impressive roster of guests and speakers at alPHa's annual conference in Toronto on June 3rd, from 1:20 - 3:20 PM.

"There are few public health issues receiving as much attention right now as obesity, and it has become very clear that in order to address it, we need to know what we're up against" said alPHa President Dr. Paul Roumeliotis. "Mr. Moss has written a powerful account of how our eating habits - and our health - have been negatively influenced by the processed food industry".

alPHa is also very pleased that Hon. Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-term Care and Hon. Teresa Piruzza, Minister of Children and Youth Services will address the conference at 12:00 noon and provide an update on this important public health priority. Coincidentally, Salt Sugar Fat was released within days of No Time to Wait: The Healthy Kids Strategy, the March 2013 report of the Healthy Kids Panel, which outlines its recommendations for realizing the Ontario Government's commitment to reduce child obesity by 20% over five years. Although its proposed strategy addresses many factors that contribute to unhealthy weights, nearly half of its recommendations were focused on changing the food environment. The Panel argues that people know that good nutrition is important, but that they often feel undermined by the food environment around them, one that is not set up to make the healthiest choices the easiest ones.

"The food industry is but one factor in the complex and multi-faceted issue of obesity, but it is a critical one", Dr. Roumeliotis continued. "We must eat to stay healthy, but too much of what we eat is making us unhealthy". Mr. Moss's investigation of the food industry has uncovered some very convincing reasons for why that is, and alPHa's members can look forward to hearing him describe what he found out and how, and discussing how it can be applied to finding practical solutions for keeping people healthy.

Mr. Moss will be speaking at alPHa's Keeping People Healthy conference on Monday, June 3rd from 1:20 - 3:20 PM.

As the provincial organization representing public heath, alPHa provides leadership and expertise on public health management issues. Its members include medical officers of health, board of health members and senior managers in public health disciplines including inspection, epidemiology, nursing, dentistry, nutrition, health promotion and business administration.